Philippines

For years, high rollers from China have flouted their country’s ban on gambling by getting their fix online. Livestreamed games of baccarat, roulette, poker and more feature young women sitting behind tables, dealing cards and spinning wheels. While the players are in China, the croupiers on their screens are often far away in studios in the Philippine capital Manila, the Wall Street Journal reported. Filipino officials say many of these operations are also run and staffed by Chinese nationals.
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The Philippine central bank kept its policy rate unchanged as it continues efforts to tame inflation and support the country’s currency, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona said Thursday that the central bank maintained its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate at 6.50%. It also held its benchmark lending rate steady at 7.00%. The country’s consumer-price index for May rose 3.9% from a year earlier, edging higher from a 3.8% increase in April. That is near the upper end of the central bank’s inflation target range of 2%-4%.
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The Philippine central bank held its policy rate steady as it continues to guard against inflation risks, but the meeting has stirred speculation that its hawkish stance is softening, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 6.50% on Thursday, extending a policy pause stretching back to November 2023. It also maintained its benchmark lending rate at 7.00%. Gov.
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The Philippines central bank kept its policy rate unchanged as widely expected, extending its pause as a recent pickup in inflation resurfaces concerns about price pressures in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona said Monday that the central bank maintained its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate at 6.50%, deeming it appropriate to keep monetary policy settings tight. It held its benchmark lending rate at 7.00%.
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Philippine central bank Governor Eli Remolona said he is open to an unscheduled interest-rate hike before the November meeting and that a pivot to easing was unlikely in the first half of 2024, Bloomberg News reported. “I am open to an off-cycle increase,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Manila on Monday, acknowledging that his rhetoric has become “more hawkish” since taking office in July.
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Philippines Leaves Key Rate Steady

The Philippine central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting as the economy slowed while signaling that policy settings will remain tight amid inflation risks, Bloomberg News reported. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas maintained its overnight reverse repurchase rate at 6.25% on Thursday during Eli Remolona’s first policy decision as governor. The move was predicted by 22 of 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey, with two expecting a rate hike.
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The Philippine central bank will exercise caution against “too much” monetary tightening to avoid crimping economic growth, according to Governor Eli Remolona, Bloomberg News reported. “If we are going to hike, we have to be very careful not to hike too much,” Remolona said at a briefing in Manila Friday, when asked if the economy can handle more tightening on top of the 425-basis points of increases since last year.
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The Philippines central bank will likely leave its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25% on Thursday, and keep it there for the rest of 2023, marking an end to a year-long tightening cycle as inflation shows signs of cooling, a Reuters poll found. Although annual inflation slowed to 6.6% in April from a peak of 8.7% in January, it remained well above the central bank's target range of 2-4%, suggesting the cumulative rate hikes of 425 basis points are yet to have an impact.
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The Philippine central bank could pause interest rate hikes at its monetary policy meeting this week, its governor said on Monday, after inflation in April eased for a third straight month, Reuters reported. "If you're sure this is a permanent trend, clearly we must pause because there will be no need for another one," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters on the sidelines of a financial stability conference.
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Philippine central bank Governor Felipe Medalla has signaled that pausing from policy rate increases may be an option when the monetary board meets in May, after inflation eased last month, Bloomberg News reported. Medalla, in a mobile-phone message late Saturday, said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas could pause on rate hikes if April’s month-on-month inflation “is low, like February and March.” The central bank chief earlier said that it may be “too early” to keep the policy rate unchanged in the next meeting unless prices fall.
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